Fallen Eagle

Chapter 53: Royal Reclamation Part 2

Hello my loyal readers! It's so good to see you return! I know this is out past my normal two week schedule, but I really wanted to focus on the tension in this chapter so as to get you guys warmed up for the finale to this story arc. And I really wanted to thank you guys for helping me surpass 200 faves on this story! Not only that, but we've also surpassed 600 reviews! Thank you guys so much for helping me pass that mark.

Before I get to replying to reviews, I just want to remind everyone that if you're at all interested in my thoughts for new episodes for Season 6, there is a link to my YouTube channel on my profile here.

SkullRabbit775: Nice to meet you!

Srey: Thanks for that; I was hoping I could channel a bit of the Winter Soldier into Ember with how fast she could clean house like that. When she had her appearance in Gauntlet of Fire, I knew that she would be entering my story's universe. And to answer your question, Ember is a highly trained dragon guard; a normal dragon wouldn't be able to take down ponies that stealthily.

Monkeyboy0118: From what another author told me, Ember has quickly become a fan favorite of the show; and for damn good reason. Although possibly a one time appearance, Ember was extremely memorable and a strong character that learned having friends or not acting tough 24/7 doesn't make you weak. I'm also glad that she had a good purpose in the episode for wanting to be the new Dragon Lord: She would actually be an intellectual leader and not a leader based solely on strength. And I loved her line, "Please don't make me talk about my feelings!"

The Sleeping Library: I hope this one was worth the wait as it focuses more on tension building for the finale of the arc rather than just action. For the finale chapter of the arc, I don't plan for it to have a cliffhanger because everything WILL be resolved and then some in the next chapter.

Nostalgia Cop: I'm not sure Garble is anywhere near that intelligent to be honest

CreepyTamer20: I honestly have no clue. I can tell you there's maybe 11 more chapters after this before the final arc of the story begins. And even then I'm gonna need a pretty good break to be able to map the final arc out so there's no plot holes within the story.

headreviewermk2: Eh, even if more of the jet was intact, I doubt the electronics would still be working in order for a missile to be launched

Uss71832: Yes, this is 100% true

Furi-S-Poi:Haha, no dude. That was Luna weakly saying she was looking forward to meeting her foal. Despite the hole she is in, she's remaining very optimistic about returning home. And it hasn't been two years yet. Not until October 15th at least. Also I'm not sure if Wattpad will work on here.

NoOne: Unless I'm absolutely exhausted from the chapter, I respond to reviews 99% of the time

Glugthorn: Plot hole eh? No a plot hole is like where the hell did the giant pit in the T-Rex paddock come from in Jurassic Park? Let's see, and the Air Force isn't a part of the military? Hmm, well it's included in the Five branches of the military. And while I could've had Ivan as a Naval Aviator, (That's a pilot for the Navy just in case you couldn't figure that out) I chose the Air Force for one reason: Because my grandfather served in the Air Force in a little war called VIETNAM.

I hope you guys enjoy this one. After this arc is complete, the chapters will begin to skip forward in time a bit; they won't take place like the day after the next, like the episodes do on the show. And there will be a TON of chapters coming up that I've been itching to write for a LONG time. The story will also be introducing a new character shortly...

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(Horntail's Castle; Ivan's POV)

In contempt of the fact that Horntail claimed to be on our side, and that he'd personally deal with any dragon that dared to interfere or harm us, it didn't change the amount of skepticism I was feeling. Or possibly a bit of fear and anxiety considering he could crush any one of us with even his smallest claw. I didn't feel completely distrustful of the dragon king, but I could sort of identify with Sarah Connor's feelings of the Terminator in T2. Yet, since Celestia seemed to trust his word, that was good enough for me to at least hold a sense of relief that we were receiving some assistance.

"Is Ember fast enough to find Garble and come back before we lose too much time?" Rainbow Dash called up to Horntail. In the few minutes that Ember was gone, Horntail had suggested (shouted) that we relax just for a little bit before we resume our rescue mission. He also had a few servants bring some drinks out which turned out to be boiling water.

"Ha! My daughter is plenty fast enough little pony," Horntail chortled. "She may not be the strongest dragon in Draconia, but she is sufficiently agile and resilient," he bragged, sipping his 55 gallon barrel of boiling water. All of us except Spike simply set our water goblets on the ground and let Celestia cool them down with a spell. Surprisingly, it was pretty refreshing.

"Yeah, we kinda know that first hand your highness," I sighed as I pulled my drink away from my mouth and brushed my fingers against the welt on my head. "I'll give Ember that, she's exceptionally trained." Horntail responded with a beam of pride on his face.

"Well, she did really catch you guys with your armor down," Spike shrugged before covering his mouth to belch. Flash Sentry rolled his eyes and used his wing to hold his goblet that he shook back and forth to pass the time.

"It doesn't matter Spike," Bat Fang chimed in with his raspy voice. "We're supposed to be Equestria's elite; we shouldn't be beaten that quickly or easily," the bat pony protested. A few of the dragon guards shared a chuckle at his objection, causing him to growl.

"Don't let a loss in battle get to you Bat Fang," Celestia calmly advised the guard. "We must all keep our emotions in check at a time such as this," she added. If there was one of us that had a right to say that now, it was Celestia. I've noticed her trying her damnedest to keep from getting choked up and exploding at us. All of us were pissed off to some degree and a little saddened, but there was no way I'd want to trade places with the sun alicorn now; her chest must feel like it's on fire.

"And technically Cougar's a volunteer," Misty Fly corrected the bat guard.

"SILENCE!" Horntail suddenly blurted, causing Soarin to accidentally spill his water onto Rainbow Dash. "If you are all so concerned about this, I shall assign my daughter and one other guard to escort you throughout my kingdom for extra protection," the king offered. That actually didn't sound too bad an idea. It was sort of like getting a personal police escort in a different city or even country back at home. And luckily no one really objected to the idea. Rainbow Dash, Glock, and Bat Fang didn't appear to like it all to well after their first encounter with Ember, but they put those personal feelings aside.

"Well, does Ember actually like us all that much?" Flash Sentry retorted, setting his empty water goblet onto a window sill next to him.

"She hasn't killed any of you yet," Horntail darkly joked, "so I'd say she may have a tiny soft spot for some of you." I could hear Misty Fly audibly gulp from the king's grim joke, not that I could blame her for that. 'Possibly just respect for Celestia,' I kept my thoughts to myself as I studied the alicorn I was thinking of. It was such an oddity to see her in armor in person. I'd seen a few portraits of her and Luna in battle armor in their castle, but in the ten months I've known them, I'd never seen them in anything other than their gala dresses or their normal royal attire. "PURPLE ONE!" Horntail abruptly blurted. "Spike was it?" He added more softly.

"Uh, yes your highness?" Spike spun around from facing Flash. The dragon king had somewhat of a smirk on his face as he appeared to be sizing Spike up for whatever reason. I'm pretty sure if Twilight were here, she wouldn't like the way her son was being stared at by someone like Horntail.

"Tell me young one, do you have a mate yet?"

"WHAT?!" Spike screamed in response. Soarin began to sip whatever was left of his water, clearly hooked for someone reason at Horntail's inquiry to Spike. It was definitely a surprising question, but it wasn't that interesting since we knew of his feelings for Rarity.

"Oh please, it's just a simple question," the king rolled his orange eyes in annoyance. "It isn't like I asked if you'd killed or eaten a pony before. Have you?"

"Ahem," Celestia cleared her throat as Flash swooped in to catch Spike's falling water goblet. "I don't think that's an appropriate question considering the circumstances, King Horntail," she advised with a strained voice.

"My apologies." His apology sounded completely half-assed to me. His second question sort of hit home for me since I was in the military. "I simply wished to know if he'd consider my daughter as a potential mate," Horntail explained. Rainbow Dash's jaw nearly hit the floor as Flash lost grip on Spike's water goblet.

"Spike and Ember?" I asked aloud, shuddering just a bit since I could never picture anyone other than Rarity at his side, even if it hadn't yet happened.

"Of course. Normally I'd prefer a taller and much more stronger dragon than Spike, but considering the dragons in this kingdom who meet those qualifications are completely worthless, I do believe your friend would be a sufficient candidate," Horntail explained. Before anything else could be said, the stone doors to the throne room opened swiftly with a bang to the stone walls. Right as I turned, I could notice Spike breathing a huge sigh of relief at being saved from denying Ember to her father.

"Here he is father, Garble!" Ember announced as another pair of dragon guards shut the doors. The female dragon removed her helmet once more, putting it under her arm as she marched side by side with a red dragon a few inches taller than her. Right away, just from Garble's walk, I could tell the dragon was the jock-type that believed he was God's personal gift to the world. I instantly disliked him.

"Ah very good Ember!" Her father praised Ember's work. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Spike and Rainbow shaking with rage just from seeing Garble while the others except Celestia were trying to stare him down. Celestia on the other hand was sporting a look that could turn a dementor into ice. She believed Spike's every word that it was indeed Garble who was connected with Luna's disappearance. The alicorn even stretched her left wing, trying to cover Spike from Garble's gaze.

"Ponies!?" Garble blurted, snorting smoke out of his nose and furrowing his eyebrows. He darted his eyes around each and every one of my friends, only to be seething with hatred with every passing glance. He snorted loudly again, this time causing orange flames to shoot out of his nose. "Your lordship, please tell me these ponies are here to be eaten!" Garble begged. "We don't want their namby-pambyness to infect us."

"You're going to be sorely dissatisfied Garble," Horntail announced, bending down in his throne to get a closer look at the crimson reptile. Letting out a growl akin to a pissed grizzly bear, Garble turned his head to face us, squinting his eyes.

"You I recognize," he pointed a dark claw toward Rainbow Dash and began stalking toward her. Not one to just shy away, Rainbow Dash defensively spread her wings, leaning forward in a somewhat demonstration stance. Misty Fly and Soarin stood on either side behind her for backup, eyes glaring and jaws clenched. "Then that means," Garble shifted his yellow eyes over to Celestia, grinning evilly when he saw Spike step out from behind the alicorn's wing.

"Watch it Garble," Spike warned, "these are all of my friends, and we're not here for fun." The red dragon's eyes widened upon seeing Spike in full view.

"Woah, so the baby pony dragon ain't such a baby anymore, huh?" Garble moved toward Spike, extending his claw out to bop Spike's nose. "But I bet you're still a baby where it really counts." Spike snorted, hitting Garble's claw with his green fire. "Heh, but you're still pretty weak, pussy," the bigger dragon mocked, grabbing Spike in his arm and digging into his head with his knuckles.

"Let him go you big red prick!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, raising a hoof like a fist.

"Do not harm him!" Celestia threatened as Ember flapped her wings into the air. Picking up my water goblet, I chucked it right at Garble, hitting him square in the back of the head. He instantly released Spike from his grip, jerking his head to the side to face me.

"You know, I can see why Horntail thinks the majority of his subjects are worthless idiots," I tormented the bully, furrowing my eyebrows and shooting him a death glare. "If they all act like you of course," I added, barely grasping the handle of my knife.

"And I thought ponies were ugly!" Garble exclaimed, looking repulsed by my presence. I didn't know whether or not he actually was sickened by me or if he was just being an asshole. "I guess ugly sticks together huh?" He flapped his wings several times, flying over and landing directly in front of me. Not moving a muscle, our gazes met as Garble looked a few inches down at me while Glock and Bat Fang snuck up behind Garble, ready to attack him if he harmed me.

"Then I suppose you don't know what a mirror is?" I replied, leaning a bit closer to try and intimidate him.

"Well, I knew ponies like to be friends with freaks, but what-"

"I'm a human you dick," I sneered, growing tired of explaining what I was to every new pony we met. Garble bared his fangs at me, growling as he put a claw to my chest and poked me.

"You better learn to keep your mouth shut, human, or else I may want to try something new for dinner," the dragon leaned down, putting his nostrils close to my shoulder. Before he could even get the first whiff in, I grabbed his muzzle, squeezing it like a vice and shoving him backward where Glock and Bat Fang flew back. "AH! ASSHOLE!" Garble spat.

"I've already been sniffed today; not a big fan of it," I growled. The reptile growled again, flaring his wings, baring his fangs, and opening his fingers, ready to pounce on me. I'll admit I was pretty scared by what was happening, but luckily Ember shot in between us, punching Garble away before he could attack me like a Velociraptor.

"That's enough you numbskulls," she insulted the two of us, tightening her grip on Garble's arm. "You stop trying to egg him on!" Ember shouted at me, causing me to nod uneasily and walk away to be with Rainbow, Soarin, and Misty Fly. "And you, you're going to listen to what our guests and your king has to say, or else I'll use you as my personal training dummy," she threatened, twisting Garble's arm behind his back until his complied with her command.

"Ugh, thank you daughter," Horntail sighed, rubbing the side of his head. "I didn't want to get a mess all over my clean throne room," he darkly joked again before clearing his throat. "Now Garble, Princess Celestia has an important issue that she and her friends have come to our kingdom for. Apparently her little sister, Princess Luna, has vanished without a trace. They've come here for assistance in her return home," Horntail explained. With the exception of the crackling flames of the throne room's torches, silence followed what the king had to say to his dragon subject. All of us were waiting to see what the self-caring cunt would have to say with further information. I continued to glare at him along with Spike, Celestia, Glock, Rainbow, and Bat Fang, not having much faith that Garble would sing a different tune.

A smile, more of a smirk, cut itself across Garble's scaled muzzle. A snort, followed by a short burst of flame, escaped his nostrils as the dragon shook his head in disbelief. "That?" He questioned incredulously. "That's why you drug me here to see these losers?"

"Grrr," I could hear both Bat Fang and Rainbow Dash growling behind me.

"Why should I, or you for that matter your highness," Garble spread his wings and took flight to get closer to King Horntail, "care that one stupid pony is missing?" He folded his arms.

Clank, an odd metal on stone sound caught my attention. Quickly turning my head, I could see a few sparks flying at Celestia's right front hoof as she pawed at the ground. I could see much strain in her face as she attempted to keep calm and collected.

"Maybe if you'd-" Ember attempted to speak, yet she was interrupted by the colossal prick himself.

"It's just one pony out of what, thousands Crustia?" Garble shifted his hovering body around to face Celestia. While it was more than likely he fucked up her name on accident, I wouldn't put it past Garble to say the wrong name purposefully. "Pfft, far as I'm concerned anyway, the fewer ponies around, the better."

"Princess Luna is pregnant you dickhole!" I heard Rainbow screech. She flew into my field of vision before being yanked back hard. I snapped my head back to see her scrambling to get to Garble as Soarin and Misty Fly held onto her tail and one of her back legs, begging her to calm down. It was easy to tell that the two of them were also pissed off at Garble's comments, but they were much better than Rainbow at staying calm like this.

"Tia…" Glock said cautiously, trying to put a foreleg around one of Celestia's forelegs. The alicorn was beginning to snort angrily as hard a bull; I didn't think she'd last much longer.

"Can't you put your speciesism aside for five bucking minutes and grow a conscience?!" Spike shouted at his former tormentor. As if by some stroke of luck, Garble's expression actually softened. His toothy smirk, eyes, and expression softened into that of someone being told some harsh news. The dragon even lowered himself to the ground, folding his wings onto his back. Rainbow Dash ceased struggling at this turn of events and Celestia's snorting quieted.

"Oh….." Garble managed to squeak out, lowering his head so far that his chin touched his chest. "I'm sorry. Two less ponies?" The smirk and hardened expressions returned. "FANTASTIC!" He exclaimed loudly, sticking his snake-like tongue out of his mouth at Celestia. At that moment, Princess Celestia actually screamed in anger. A feat that I never even contemplated before was happening. The alicorn flared her wings out and stamped her hooves on the floor, ready to charge the dragon.

"TIA!" Glock exclaimed, jumping in front of his princess and marefriend to prevent her from letting her emotions run wild. Right away, Bat Fang and I saw that she was too strong to be held back by one pony. The two of us jumped in front of Celestia; Bat Fang grabbed ahold of her other foreleg while I wrapped my arms around her torso, holding her right wing down. The mare was fucking strong; she still managed to take a few steps even with all three of us holding her. She thrashed around a bit as Garble laughed and pointed mockingly at us.

"Awww, they're so cute when they're pissed!" Garble teased.

"LET ME GO!" Rainbow demanded, trying to kick at Soarin and Misty Fly. While Celestia was flailing myself, Bat Fang, and Glock around, I managed to catch a glimpse of Flash Sentry pinning Spike to the stony ground. He had his foreleg digging into Spike's back as his wings flapped furiously, trying to keep pressure on the purple dragon.

"Spike, you know your mom wouldn't let you waste your energy on that slime ball!" I could barely hear Flash attempting to coerce Spike out of attacking Garble as well. "I'm not gonna let you get hurt!" He added. There was a part of me that was literally praying for Garble to be the one behind Luna's kidnapping, just so I can have an excuse to beat his face into the back of his skull.

"ENOUGH!" King Horntail's voice boomed so loudly that dust and a few chunks of rock clattered to the floor. The near earthquake-like vibrations were enough to make all of us fall over to the ground. Just like before, a flash of turquoise flew overhead. Princess Ember, like a bat of out Hell, shot out to Garble and pinned him to the wall.

"Stop antagonizing them," Ember ordered. An ear-splitting screech was heard as her claws scraped against the wall she'd pinned Garble to as she tried to bring his arms down.

"Why do you even care Ember?" Garble sounded as if he didn't give a shit he was trapped. "They're just a bunch of namby-pamby ponies and a butt-ugly human." As Bat Fang and myself managed to stand up, making sure that Celestia wasn't going to attack Garble, I caught a side view glimpse of Ember's eyes narrowing at Garble. The red dragon then yelped in surprise as the king's daughter flipped him over and onto his head with his back still to the wall.

"Because unlike you, I actually care for the safety of an innocent unborn youngling. That's what is at stake here. You're right, dragons don't normally give a shit about ponies or their well-beings, but I nor my father are monsters," she said darkly into Garble's face as she knelt down. His face contorted into that of disgust, completely put off by warm sentiments. "Now, stand here and keep your mouth shut until we have all the information we need," Ember let go of Garble's arms, only to grab onto his tail and flip him back right side up. The dragon was plopped down onto his butt, shaking his head as the blood rushed back down through his body.

Garble blinked a few times, moving his eyes around to each and every one of us before grunting as he stood up. "Yeah, I got it princess," he spat at Ember before trading his way over to Spike. Flash let Spike up from the ground, yet he kept a wing on Spike's front, ready to push him back. "What exactly do you want from me Spike?" Garble demanded. The son of Twilight glowered toward Garble before looking right at Ember, motioning with his head for her to come over.

Seeming to know what he wanted, Ember was over to Spike, Garble, and Flash in no time. The turquoise dragoness dropped the scale into Spike's awaiting hand before taking a step back, allowing Spike to handle Garble. "This is why we wanted to see you, Garble," Spike held the scale up to Garble's face in between his purple claws.

"Pfft, so?" Garble took one quick look at what Spike was holding before shoving Spike's hand out of his face. "It's just a scale."

"Well, do you want to tell us why your scale was in Princess Luna's bedroom?" Spike flicked the scale into Garble's face. Flash swiftly took a pretty big step back with Spike, fearing that Garble would retaliate. Myself, Bat Fang, and Glock were wary when Celestia stepped forward, eyes still glaring toward Garble. We didn't hold her down this time; we just gently touched a hoof/hand to her. The shaking from her body only furthered my worry.

"Back off!" Flash warned as Garble chuckled before reaching out to Spike with his arm. All of us took a cautious step forward as the bigger dragon quickly scraped his knuckles across Spike's head several times, giving him a noogie.

"Aww," Garble chortled as Spike growled in anger. "You disappoint me Spike buddy! You see one red scale and assume it's mine! I thought we were pals!"

"I'd rather have Cerberus use me as a chew toy than be friends with a dick like you," Spike snarled through his jaw. Snorting once again, Garble ceased tormenting Spike, an unhappy expression carved into his face.

"Okay leave him alone!" Flash gave Garble a quick slap to the gut with his wing, using the other wing to push Spike further away from his aggressor. Something struck me as odd, however. Spike's eyes widened in surprise realization for only about a quarter of a second before they returned to glaring.

"King Horntail!" Garble announced, shoving his way past Spike and Flash Sentry with Ember trailing behind. "Out of all of us, you should know that there are hundreds of other red dragons here in Draconia." Horntail raised his eyebrows, interested in what Garble had to say. Since he wasn't paying attention to what was behind him, all nine of us slowly stalked forward until we were no more than six inches behind Garble. There was no doubt he'd try to deny his innocence, but all we were going on was a scale that matched the color of his own. "And any one of those dragons could have done it, your highness."

"I have considered that," Horntail replied quickly, scratching under his chin. "However, our guests called you out by name. You must admit that those odds are not favorable in your case." The giant king peered down at Garble, trailing off at the end of his sentence. Scoffing, the scarlet reptile turned to make a motion toward us, only to recoil for how close we'd gotten without his knowledge.

"Yeah well, what reasons do you have for accusing me of your stupid princess's disappearance?" He pointed a claw towards Spike. Celestia let out another growl but didn't attempt to lunge at the dragon again.

"Because you tried to get Spike to break a phoenix egg and then tried to attack him when he refused," Soarin replied so as-a-matter-of-factly.

"So we really wouldn't put this past you, Garble," Rainbow agreed, saying the dragon's name as if it were poison.

"Not to mention he and his goons also threatened to hurt you, Rarity, and my mom!" Spike joined in the conversation as well. Garble's reaction revealed that he knew he was in a losing battle already. All of this negative information about him surely wouldn't help his case with Horntail and Ember. It honestly brought a little smirk to my face to see him a little uneasy.

"Your mom? You actually call one of these-"

"Don't say it," Flash warned the dragon, shaking his head slowly back and forth. I couldn't tell if he said that in regards to keeping his promise to Twilight, or if he was also doing because he maybe still felt a bit of a spark for the purple alicorn.

"How do we know they didn't just single me out because Spike and his friends here hate me?" Garble pointed out, trying to fight back from the hole everyone had dug him into. "If it matters to anyone here, do you have anything else to pin me to the crime besides one little scale you found in Ponyland?" Dammit, I was hoping he wouldn't be smart enough to piece that together.

"No we don't," I replied, taking a few brave steps toward him. "But it was the only place for us to start."

"Okay then," Garble threw his arms into the air. "So if none of you ponies actually saw me do it, and all you have to go off of is one red scale when there's hundreds of other red dragons in Draconia…." He trailed off smugly.

"We found a red scale in Luna's personal chambers; you're the first red dragon who explicitly stated he hates ponies we've dealt with recently," Spike quick cut in. "Don't you think that's too big of a coincidence?"

"Last I checked, coincidence isn't evidence Spike," Garble gave a quick smack under Spike's chin. "Though I can tell you this," he added, shifting his gaze over to where Celestia and I were standing with Bat Fang and Glock. "I wish I could meet the dragon that did this; he's a true hero," the dragon stuck his reptilian tongue out again. Celestia snorted rudely again, this time causing even Ember to slip over and just huddle close to the alicorn. "Your highness, can I go now?" Garble took flight, hovering at eye level with his giant king. "These ponies don't have anything on me; I think they just want to get back at me or something."

"Ugh, very well," Horntail sighed exhaustedly, "you are free to go, Garble," he waved his giant hand to the door. Chortling, Garble flew overhead, even going so far as to blowing a raspberry at Spike and Celestia. As the huge stone doors slammed shut again, all of us felt a little empty. Our only lead was a dead end so far; since there are no houses in Draconia, (at least as far as I knew) there was really no place for us to search that Garble lived. He could live practically anywhere in Draconia every day.

"I….I am sorry for nearly losing my temper," Celestia gravely apologized, sounding completely dejected.

"Hey, you handled yourself extraordinary well, princess," Misty Fly offered some encouraging words in reply. "And I don't think any of us would hold ill will if one of us did lose our cool."

"But I shouldn't let my personal feelings cloud my judgement; that's not a sign of a good ruler," Celestia replied, still sounding disappointed in herself.

"Celestia, bottling up your emotions, especially anger, isn't healthy; I've seen what it can do first hand. It's not pretty," I replied, placing a hand on Celestia's neck that wasn't covered in armor and gave it a little pat.

"Princess Celestia," Horntail's voice boomed over our conversation. "As much as my subject's words angered you, I unfortunately have to agree with him. None of you saw your Princess Luna being taken, correct?" All nine of our heads simultaneously nodded no, only making the king sigh.

"I understand we didn't really have much King Horntail," Soarin took flight and flew as close to Horntail as he dared. "But we had to start somewhere, even if it was just a hunch on who did it. At least we know it was a dragon that did it."

"Yeah, but with so many red dragons to search, where do we even begin to find all of them?" Rainbow Dash joined her coltfriend in the air.

"Besides, who even said the dragon responsible is even in Draconia right now?" Ember shrugged.

"WHAT!?" Celestia barked, making the three of us surround her jump at the surprise burst of noise.

"Sorry, sorry, bad choice of words," Ember held her hands up defensively. Celestia's breathing became ragged until Glock managed to calm her down, gently bringing her head down with his hoof to hug her.

"So what's our next step Celestia?" I questioned the alicorn after her breathing returned to normal. The alicorn didn't answer; she looked upward at the dragon king instead. I wasn't expecting an answer from Horntail whatsoever; I more or less thought he'd send us out after that little scene with Garble.

"I do apologize for your first lead bringing you to a dead end, princess," he replied as kindly as he could. "However, this setback does not mean your journey is at an end. As I promised before, you have my full permission to search Draconia for your sister." He announced proudly. Well, at least this guy holds up on his promises, but thankfully we had at least two allies with us in Ember and Horntail. Unfortunately, Spike was clearly not on the same page as the rest of us. Just as Celestia was about ready to agree to Horntail's orders, the purple dragon cut off Horntail from his speech.

"Um, your highness, can we just have a quick moment outside to discuss this?" He requested, already trying to push Flash and Misty Fly.

"Discuss it? Most of you seemed content with the idea earlier. DID YOU NOT!?"

"Well, um, yes sir," Spike stumbled over his words. "But you know we may uh want to split up to cover more ground or something, so bye!" Spike exclaimed before grabbing Soarin and Misty by their tails, dragging them behind him.

"Wait up Spike!" Flash called whilst the rest of us jogged after him. None of the other dragon guards followed us outside, though we could easily make out Horntail's confused rambling. Spike was hiding something, there was no doubt about that. Was it Ember? Sure she handed everyone except him and Celestia an ass kicking we wouldn't forget, but Spike didn't seem too off put by her. And his talk about splitting up made no sense; we discussed last night when we slept in the Hayseed Swamps that we would all stick together of our own accord and not stray away from the group. Spike pushed with all his might against the doors of the throne room before remembering the two guards.

"Hey, your king needs you inside," Spike turned to the two dragon guards outside the main doors. "He said get in there if you don't want the same fate as the last guard he fired." Both guards gave each other a nervous stare before slipping through the narrow opening between the doors. Without wasting time, Spike slammed his body against the doors, shutting them with a loud squeak.

"Why did you drag us away from Horntail's offer?" Rainbow demanded. "It may be a surprise to you Spike, but even I think we could use all the help we could get here!" She exclaimed right in the dragon's face.

"I don't think Spike would drag us out here for something stupid, Dash," I cut in in defense of our scaly friend.

"Please do not bicker!" Celestia exclaimed, stepping in between Rainbow and I, probably in case we'd challenge each other's position on the matter. "Spike, if you have something important to say, please do make haste." Spike nodded, licking his slithery tongue along his lips.

"Look guys, please don't take this as sole evidence," he begged at first with a pleading look in his reptilian green eyes. "But when Garble kept giving me that noogie, I swear I could smell Luna's scent right on him," he revealed, biting his lips hard enough that he actually did draw a little bit of blood. Almost like an electric shock, the hairs all over my body stood up at his admittance.

"Spike….." Glock remarked, urging the dragon to continue when it appeared he lost the ability to speak.

"A-are you certain Spike?" Celestia dropped to her knees to be at eye level with him.

"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't even bring it up," Spike replied with a nod. Celestia sighed, slowly stepping back up to her hooves.

"Why didn't you mention that in there?" Flash questioned, tapping the stone door with his hoof.

"Because Garble could easily make an excuse that I was lying or that because you guys are here with me, that's what I was smelling," Spike explained, scratching his claws on the side of the castle. Spike was right; even picking up Luna's scent wouldn't be enough to for Horntail to send out a search party with Garble in custody. Besides, even if the scale and Luna's scent were enough evidence for Horntail, then how would we get Garble to show us where he was hiding her?

"Can you track the scent?" Soarin asked Spike as Celestia waded in between us, standing on the bridge suspended above the lava moat.

"He's not a dog, Soarin," Rainbow Dash snapped as she hovered above our heads and paced about.

"Well, Ember said she found him where he usually hangs out," Flash quipped. "Maybe we can ask her where that is?"

"Eh, even Garble's not stupid enough to go back there," Spike shook his head. "That'd just be the first place we would look for him."

"I say we try to find Luna before we find Garble again," Bat Fang cut in. "If we find him first, he could just lead us further away from the princess, and then we'd probably never find her. If we at least find Luna first, then we can take her to safety before confronting Garble about his crime," he cast a glare toward us, grinding a spear upon the ground.

"That's a fine idea Bat Fang," Rainbow Dash replied, slowly descending to his eye level. "Just how can we find her though? Even if Ember helps us, we have no idea where to begin looking!" She exclaimed loudly into his face. During this time, I'd stood back with my back to the cold wall of the castle, arms folded across my torso. I wasn't saying much, but that's because we all had the same general consensus; what I had to say would just be redundant. Though I wasn't wasting this time away; I was trying to think of ways to locate Luna. We all couldn't just fly out into Draconia without a plan, hoping to spot Luna trapped in some rocks or whatever.

"Celestia," I called out. The princess turned around from her stance on the bridge, an exhausted expression on her face. "Do you think maybe you could give your mental link another try?" I suggested. She hadn't tried since that morning when we left the Hayseed Swamps. Celestia attempted it before we slept last night as well, but both times ended the same way: nothing except for Celestia feeling drained. I could tell Celestia was a bit afraid of trying it this morning. With how long Luna had been gone, and with no signs that she was at least awake…..

"O-one more try," Celestia slowly paced back over to our group.

"Well, are you sure you can handle summoning that much magic?" I questioned. I didn't want to force Celestia into trying this in case it made her pass out or possibly do some damage to her.

"I have not used any magic whatsoever since this morning," she replied, casting a look in my direction. "But still….."

"Tia," Glock stepped in, his slightly agape. We all knew exactly what she was thinking, but didn't want to mention anything that could possibly prevent Celestia from being there when we rescued her sister.

"I want more than anything to find Luna," Celestia said, sprouting her wings, "but…..I also want to be there to protect her," she whispered, allowing her wings to lower from self doubt.

"Celestia, please," Glock took another step closer, removing his helmet from his head and set it on the ground. Considering that Glock knew Celestia longer than any us, he was the best one to talk to her about this. "I….I hate to tell you this, but it's our only chance," he apologized profusely, lightly rubbing the parts of Celestia's foreleg that was not armored. "And believe me, I don't want to see you exert yourself beyond your limits either," he said in the softest voice I've ever heard him use.

"Wait, are you saying you could hurt yourself, princess?" Misty Fly questioned in a distressed tone. Now that really got everyone's attention. The unwanted possibility that Luna was injured, and the slight possibility Celestia could magic herself unconscious didn't sit well with any of us.

"You all already know I had to wait a little bit for my stamina to rebuild after trying to mentally link up with Luna this morning," Celestia sighed, lifting up her foreleg to be closer with Glock. "And after that I have used as little magic as possible, but even then I may pass out from how much magic I must summon, or I may too debilitated to be of any help. Yet that's still considering the link even works," she added gloomily. "I don't care whatsoever if I exhaust myself to the point of collapse, I'm worried that I won't be able to help her," Celestia explained, squeezing her eyes tightly and resting her head upon Glock's.

"If I may your majesty?" Soarin raised a hoof like a little kid would to a teacher in class. The alicorn looked up from where she was resting her head and gave the Wonderbolt Captain permission to speak. "You do understand that you won't actually help Princess Luna if you don't even try right? I mean if you trying to see into her mind is our only chance of finding where she is, shouldn't we at least try?"

"Y-yes, I do understand, Soarin," Celestia softly nodded. "I just know Lulu must be frightened, but not being able to be there for her scares me as well," she explained.

"But you will be there for her," I chimed in. Everyone turned their gazes over to me, probably shocked at hearing my voice since I barely used it outside the castle. "When you make contact with her, she'll know you're looking for her," I said with a little enthusiasm.

"Yes, that part I get Cougar. But you know how much doing that takes a toll on me," Celestia attempted to debate me.

"Flying like this for the first time sure took a toll on me as well," I countered, patting the jetpack on my back, "yet I did it because a close friend of mine is in trouble. Now I know mental exhaustion is more dangerous than physical exhaustion, Celestia, but you yourself said you'd do anything to get Luna back."

"Of course I would; whether or not she was pregnant," the princess replied with a stern nod.

"Then do it," I took a step forward, clenching my fist tightly to help instill her with confidence. "Forget about the negative consequences. Just think how happy you'll be when you can trace where Luna is; your mind will be too occupied with seeing your sister again that it won't have time to be exhausted." The alicorn's eyes widened only slightly, but it was enough. She raised her head from Glock's own, looking back and out at vastness of Draconia.

"We believe in you, Tia," Glock said, garnering Celestia's attention. The pegasus let go of his alicorn marefriend and picked up his golden helmet, returning it to his head. We all nodded in unison, gathering closer to Celestia until we were mere inches away and took a respectful knee, bowing before her.

"I know I can trust each and every one of you to find my baby sister should I succumb to the strain," she announced.

"We're with you and Luna until the end of the line, princess!" Spike shouted triumphantly, sticking his own fist in the air.

"Thank you all," Celestia replied gently, taking in a deep breath. None of us moved from our circle of encouragement as Celestia began to perform the ritual. Her horn glowed a brilliant light of gold as her wings snapped outwards, nearly smacking Bat Fang and Misty Fly in the head. With the amount of magic she was using, her body actually began to hum a little, sending the slightest vibrations through the rocky ground.

Her eyes clenched tightly as she began to summon every ounce of magic within her. Celestia's head lowered until her chin touched her gold plated chest; her body began to vibrate itself. The golden light from her horn shone even brighter, forcing all of us to look away when her head rose from her chest and her eyes snapped open, only to be glowing a bright white. I even had to cover my shut eyes with my hand from the light of all this bouncing off the walls of the enclosed entry way of the castle. "Ngh ah!" Celestia began to groan at the strain she was under. "Luna," she said like an elephant had sat upon her. "H-hear….me!" She cried out in stress.

The vibrations suddenly stopped, but the humming continued. Peeking in between my fingers, I could barely make out through the light that Celestia actually rose an inch or two off the ground. I couldn't look for long, but I prayed that it meant it was working.

"LUNA!" Celestia suddenly shrieked. The glowing lights and humming stopped immediately; Celestia's eyes returned to their normal magenta color, but she didn't land on her hooves. "Oof!" The alicorn landed with a thud and a clang to the ground.

"Princess Celestia!" Misty Fly exclaimed in fear, rising up from her knee and immediately holding her princess' head off the ground.

"Tia!" Glock cried at about the same time as Misty Fly, sitting opposite the yellow Wonderbolt, helping her hold Celestia's head. I rushed over, yet remained on one knee as I placed my fingers upon her neck, checking for a pulse.

"Got a pulse!" I declared while Bat Fang put his ear up to Celestia's mouth.

"She's breathing," he added, taking a step back to help Celestia get more air. Having three of us surround her was more than enough; I got up as well. The alicorn lay motionless at our feet and hooves, even her hair and tail weren't flowing freely.

"Tia, please say something," Glock begged, removing the alicorn's helmet. "Come on Celestia, Luna needs you!" He pleaded again, hoping that Luna's name would awaken his fallen princess. What seemed like hours took only about twenty seconds, but we got a little bit of movement. Celestia's left ear twitched several times, making all of us hold our breath for the time being.

"Princess?" Soarin called out. The alicorn suddenly inhaled sharply, snapping her eyes open again. She coughed several times before placing a hoof upon her head. "Yes!" The Wonderbolt Captain cheered as Misty Fly, Glock, and Bat Fang helped to steady Celestia. It took her awhile, but she was able to brace herself on her forelegs, looking around. She was near hyperventilating, but not enough to require a bag or anything.

"Cave," was all she was able to squeak out. It may take her a little bit to recuperate, but I think she'd be ready to get her sister at the drop of a helmet.

"Say it again Celestia?" Spike requested, leaning in closer to hear her. The rainbow maned alicorn weakly rose her chin up and looked over at the purple dragon.

"Lulu, she's being held in a cave," Celestia replied weakly, "out there!" She managed to point her left wing behind us, seeming to point beyond the horizon.

(Ivan's POV)

"Are you sure about this Celestia?" I asked hesitantly. After the princess revealed where she'd made a mental contact with Luna, she demanded that we head out now to find her sister. Even with the rest of us unanimously believing we should at least have Ember go with us in case any other dragons had a problem with us, Celestia was determined to not waste anymore time. So determined that she tried to fly by herself, only to get about four feet off the ground before collapsing on the bridge above Horntail's moat. It took myself, Rainbow Dash, and Glock holding Celestia to get her in the air as Soarin, Flash, Bat Fang, Misty Fly and Spike took protective positions around us. Luckily Flash was strong enough to hold Spike without any signs of fatigue.

"She's here!" Celestia snapped, still sounding drained. She'd recovered about halfway on the flight over here, but she was still a little ways off from at least being 'awake' enough to fly. Performing magic higher than possibly levitation and teleportation of objects was out of the question for at least an hour so it could regenerate. Then again, I had no idea what other magic she could perform at the moment. "Luna's weak too; I could barely see her field of vision for a few seconds, but I could see she was trapped in a cave," the alicorn repeated.

"But in a volcano?!" Rainbow called out what I was referring to. About three quarters of a mile across a bay of water sat a volcano that Celestia claimed her magic connection with Luna was made. "Come on princess, we all want to get Luna back, but I think we need Ember with us!" She tried to persuade the princess.

"We could easily get lost in there or trapped too!" Misty Fly concurred with her fellow Wonderbolt. While I agreed with Misty Fly's concerns, I was mainly worried about the fucking thing erupting with all of us inside. Then Equestria would be in deep shit with both princesses gone. Maybe everyone else had the same fear, but like me, didn't want to call out the elephant in the room and instill more doubt within us.

"How can you be sure where to find Luna once we get inside?" I asked, turning away from the volcanic island in the water. All of us were standing on the edge of a huge cliff; even though nearly all of us could fly, none of us were too sure if there were any other hazards waiting below the watery surface. "If there's one cave in there, there's bound to be a whole network of them," I added.

"I am strong enough to at least sense another magical presence, Cougar," Celestia gave me a sly smirk, trying to assure me. "Hopefully by the time we've gotten her, I'll be well enough to fly again and I shall carry her home," she continued, taking in deep breaths.

"I don't want you to strain yourself again, Tia!" Glock replied sternly, slamming the blunt end of his spear into the ground. "You could cause more damage to yourself than just exhaustions," he warned. He couldn't stay too stern for long however; Celestia gently placed a wing on his back and stroked it lovingly.

"Flying won't be an issue Glock; it'll be any dragon that dares get in the way of rescuing my baby sister," she claimed, sprouting her wings to full extension. "You have my word that I won't use any magic until we enter the volcano. Even then, sensing other forms of magic doesn't put any strain on me." Glock gave a reluctant sigh and a quick nuzzle to Celestia before standing beneath her left wing, flapping his own. "I believe in you my friends; otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to come on this mission," Celestia concluded as I took the cue. Pumping my arms back, my pack activated, shooting the wings outward as the gentle roar of the engines came to life.

"Careful now," Glock warned me as I hovered above Celestia, wrapping my arms around her torso as Rainbow Dash took her position under Celestia's right wing. Spike hopped aboard Flash's back while they and the rest of the rescue group took off to resume their protective positions ahead of us.

"Now!" Celestia ordered. All at once, myself, Glock, and Rainbow Dash lifted Celestia up into the air as gently as possible before moving forward. Because of her size, there was no way I could carry Celestia all alone; thankfully Glock and Rainbow Dash took some of the weight themselves. I did one last look behind us just to be sure we weren't being stalked. Once I saw nothing unusual, I refocused my eyes on the volcano ahead and the alicorn in my arms. Rainbow and Glock pumped their wings furiously to support Celestia and move forward at the same time. We weren't moving fast, but we'd get there at a reasonable pace. I increased my speed just slightly, making sure it wasn't too fast and that I'd accidentally lose my grip.

"We gotcha princess!" Rainbow Dash cheered as our speed as a whole increased. The alicorn couldn't move her wings too much to be very effective, but she had sort of a glider effect, allowing us to fly smoothly. It didn't take us too long, but with nothing preventing us from getting to our destination, we reached the entrance to the side of the volcano in roughly three minutes with our relaxed pace. Softly, we lowered Celestia to the platform that extended about ten feet past the entrance.

"Thank you, my friends," Celestia thanked us as I released her torso from my grip and flew to the side, deactivating my pack. The wings retreated into the body of the jetpack as I kept an eye on Celestia just in case her knees buckled or she lost her balance.

"You're sounding a little better, princess," Bat Fang took note as he stood opposite of Glock in front of Celestia.

"All in due time, I should be back to normal within the hour," her mane and tail even began to move of their own accord once again, though not as swiftly as usual. I looked forward to the rest of the group, only to become rather curious. None of them had even stepped foot into the cave yet, and I could tell why. Sure, there were the normal stalagmites and stalactites as I expected, et the mouth of the cave entrance looked like giant mouth with fangs. Misty Fly was shaking like a leaf just from looking inside.

"It doesn't look too narrow," I attempted to lighten the mood just in case anyone here was claustrophobic. Stepping forward, I placed a hand on the Wonderbolt's head and softly patted her.

"Still, it doesn't mean we have to like walking into this death trap," Misty gulped, shifting her gaze away from the cave.

"I thought you were supposed be the positive one," my hand retreated from the yellow pony and furrowed my eyebrows in puzzlement. Misty Fly took one look back at me and rolled her eyes. We couldn't hesitate anymore; Celestia announced that she'd rested long enough and that it was time to move. She even attempted to take the lead of the party, strolling past everyone before Flash, Spike, and Glock blocked her path.

"Please don't waste what time we have," Celestia requested.

"Your highness, no matter what, we will not let you head this rescue party in your condition," Flash replied sternly, crossing his wing with Glock's. The other pegasus guard simply shook his head at Celestia, not even second guessing his move.

"Come on Celestia, we can't do anything too rash now," I advised from my position next to Misty Fly and behind Celestia. I didn't mind taking the rear position again since it was one of the most important duties when escorting someone or something important. With a frustrated sigh, the alicorn agreed, letting Glock and Bat Fang take positions on her left side; Rainbow Dash and Soarin on her right side, and Flash Sentry and Spike at the front of the group. We all seemed to take a collective breath simultaneously before one by one we all were swallowed up by the mouth of the cave. The stalagmites and stalactites looked even more morbid as they became nothing but black figures against the orange hue outside. Lava, caves, rocks, fire, and brimstone; the only thing missing was a sign that read 'Abandon Hope All Ye who Enter Here.'

I was right about one thing though, the tunnel we'd entered was actually pretty wide, but that didn't really help anything though. All nine of us were slammed with a wall of hot air; my flight suit was beginning to become even more sticky than before. I couldn't imagine what my friends were going through having to wear armor or a uniform over fur. "Oh colt!" Rainbow Dash groaned, flapping a wing over her face and trying to keep alert. Celestia gave a pretty sizable flap of her wings, sending a rush of cooling air all around her. "Whew, thanks princess!" Rainbow Dash sighed in relief.

"Do you think any dragons actually live here?" Flash Sentry questioned Spike up ahead.

"Hard to tell, Flash," Spike retorted, peering his head all around at the walls and ceiling. "I mean the heat won't bother any dragon, and it looks like a good hiding place for jewels and gold and junk, but I can't tell if there are any dragons here right now," he explained. Through the trotting of hooves on the rocky floor, I could barely make out a rock rolling down a wall and clattering across the ground somewhere up ahead. Unsure if anyone else heard, I grasped the handle of my magic gun and slowly slipped it out of its holster.

"Hey, you okay there, Cougar?" Misty asked with concern. "You seem a little…..jumpy?" She tried to guess, squinting her left eye in confusion. Feeling like I was caught, I kept my gun to my side and swallowed as gently as I could, looking at every angle of the tunnel. "And jumpy doesn't come to mind when I think of you."

"I'm not jumpy, I'm alert," I lied to Misty, walking just a step or two ahead of her pace. "And it's better to be prepared," I tapped the barrel against my leg, making sure to keep my finger off the trigger.

"If you say so," Misty sounded like she didn't believe my bull-shit, but she didn't press further or try to dig down to get me to admit that I was actually pretty scared. It wasn't the tunnel that had me frightened and on edge as my breathing proved. It was what I couldn't see in the tunnel that was scaring me. With every passing foot, I tried to keep a close eye on the ceiling and the walls in particular. The paranoia part of my mind was tricking me into thinking that something far worse than a dragon was going to drop down from above or burst through the wall. Yeah, watching 'Aliens' as an eight year old was definitely a dumb move on my part. It was mainly the surprise of something appearing without warning that got my heart rate up.

"Hey princess?" Soarin squeaked, sounding uncertain whether or not he should be talking to Celestia right now.

"Yes Soarin?" She answered in her still tired yet motherly-like voice. I guess since we started moving, she was a little less irritable. I paused scanning every inch of the walls and ceiling of the tunnel, taking a quick glance up ahead to see Soarin looking halfway at Celestia and halfway at the floor. "You aren't claustrophobic are you?" Celestia questioned.

"Uh no, I'm not," the pale blue captain replied out of the corner of his mouth. Even Rainbow Dash had an eyebrow raised, piqued at how unsure her coltfriend sounded. "I was just wondering what happens if we find Luna before we run into Garble?" Celestia's pace slowed just enough that both Misty Fly and I bumped into her. The alicorn quickly resumed her speed as everyone except Spike and Flash slowed as well, continuing to forge ahead. We allowed the princess to walk a few paces ahead before counting at our previous speed; I still kept my eyes peeled to the walls and ceiling.

"Well," Celestia began, sounding as if she were guessing along the way. "We know our primary goal is to get Luna home; that's the sole reason we came here," she explained. "King Horntail gave us permission to search his kingdom, not to detain Garble," she added. "We must focus on rescuing my sister; but alerting Horntail and Ember is important as well. They have the authority to deal with a criminal of their own kingdom."

"Okay, then how do we convince them that Garble was behind this? Remember what Spike said, Tia?" Glock replied with a rough swallow.

"Luna should be all the evidence we need Glock," Celestia rubbed a wing on Glock's back. "Once we find Luna, we can take her back to Horntail's castle to tell him and Ember to be on the lookout for Garble; then we take my baby sister back home and put this awful incident behind us," the princess finished with a bit of hope in her voice. It sounded like the perfect plan to me. Nice and swift to get back home to Equestria and hopefully get things back to normal. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't be that simple; nothing is ever as simple as it sounds.

"Princess!" Spike's voice bounced off the stone walls from up around a bend in the tunnel. It sounded a little concerned but not frightened or angry.

"We have a slight problem!" Flash chimed in, his voice sounding a little more worried than Spike's. Still determined, Celestia's brisk walking turned into a light trotting, making all of us feel a little nervous since she was still recovering from her magic bender. We all started jogging, hurrying around the turn, only to stop in our tracks once we came upon a disheartening sight. The arm that was holding my gun dropped lazily to my side. We stood behind Spike and Flash who had stopped at the start of a stone bridge that spanned maybe thirty or forty feet across to another tunnel.

"Oh shit," Bat Fang cursed. The bridge to the other tunnel wasn't the issue; it was the dozens of other tunnels to the left, right, above, and below the giant crater our bridge was suspended over. We were stuck in a labyrinth with no way of knowing where to even start.

"Celestia…." I said before trailing off, hoping she may be able to provide an answer on what to do.

"We're in the belly of the beast now," Flash Sentry remarked softly, his ears falling limp to the sides of his head.

"Cut the poetry crap!" Glock snapped to his orange counterpart. "We need to figure out just where to start in this damn place." Having little time was awful, but have no clue how much time we had to save Luna was Hellish to say the least. This wasn't just a setback, it was like restarting a whole game back at level 1.

"If anyone is thinking of splitting up, just keep your thoughts to yourself," Rainbow Dash craned her neck around. No matter what, she was right. If we split up, then several of us could get lost and be right back at the beginning again, possibly never getting out of this Hell hole. While all of us were trying to think of ways to just even begin our search, Celestia took several steps forward, stepping onto the volcanic rock bridge. She stretched her head up, peering up at the hole at the top of the volcano.

"Tia!" Glock flapped his wings furiously, darting forward to stand side by side with the alicorn. "Be careful!" He took a quick look down below. The rest of us joined up with the princess and guard captain, standing on the edge of the crater. I took a look down myself; luckily there was no lava on the surface of the ground, but a fall would kill any of us should we not be able to take flight. Several plumes of smoke seeped out of the cracks in the ground, indicating that there was indeed a pool of lava below the ground, waiting to erupt at possibly any moment.

"Do not fret my loyal bodyguard," the princess said softly, refocusing upon the white pegasus. "I have a way to figure out where to start," she revealed. "It may not lead us directly to her, but it will give us a path. And a path is much better than nothing."

"No!" Glock barked, shaking his head profusely. "Celestia, you're not one-hundred percent recovered yet!"

"What's she talking about, Glock?" I asked, not feeling comfortable about Celestia's tone of voice.

"It's similar to the mental link spell," Celestia explained, looking over at me. "However, it requires far less magic than the mental link. Alicorns and advanced unicorns can perform a special spell that allows them to detect other magic signatures around them."

"Celestia, please listen to me," Glock pleaded.

"All I must do is cast the spell, and if I am able to detect Luna's magic aura, all we have to do is follow it until the signature gets strong enough and we'll be able to find her," Celestia ignored her coltfriend's plea.

"Tia you could pass out again!"

"I shall be fine, Glock," Celestia quickly shut down the guard.

"But if you do pass out again, not only could it be hours you'll be unconscious, but then we'll never be able to find Luna."

"We can't just blindly pick any tunnel and follow it; it could be a trap or we could be lead to multiple dead ends. At least with this spell we'll have a chance." It was odd to see Celestia actually arguing with someone like this, even if she was managing to hold her gentle composure. "Glock, I am forever grateful you care this much about my safety, but please tell me," she continued, "do you trust me?"

"Of course I do Tia," Glock admitted begrudgingly.

"Then please, allow me to do this. I promise you I will be all right," Celestia lifted the guard's chin with her wing. None of us were protesting Celestia's idea since it really was all we had to go on, so everyone except me gave Glock the encouragement to trust in the princess' idea. I was still busy trying to keep an eye out for any form of danger the could compromise us. Finally, after a moment or two of consideration, the captain of the royal guard sighed and gave a heavy nod to the princess, giving in to her wishes.

Celestia wrapped a foreleg around her coltfriend, gifting him with a quick hug. Once they were done, the pegasus guard took a few steps back, allowing some space for Celestia to complete the spell. Like last time, her horn glowed with her golden aura, but unlike last time, her eyes didn't turn white. This had to be a sign that Celestia really wasn't using as much magic as the mental link spell, so that instilled at least myself and Glock with some sense of relief. Yet that didn't mean it was going smoothly. With her eyes open, Celestia looked to be in a little bit of pain. Her eyes squinted as she clenched her jaws together, grunting as she strained to keep her magic working and herself awake. "Princess?" Spike asked with caution, not wanting her to push herself over the edge.

While her horn fizzled and sparked from trying to summon the right amount of magic, another noise caught my attention. It sounded close, but through Celestia's grunting and the hum from her horn, I could hear dirt and rocks crumbling from what seemed to be behind us. As much as I wanted to keep my eyes on Celestia should anything happen to her, my natural survival and protective instincts kicked in. Keeping a firm grip on the wooden handle of my revolver, I turned around, facing away from the group. "Hmm," I groaned as I found nothing of interest. Taking a glance back toward my friends to make sure they were okay, I re-entered the tunnel we came in, just to double-check there was nothing here. I didn't go far, just enough to poke my head around the bend, only to find the same thing as before: An empty tunnel.

"Stop being so fucking paranoid," I berated myself, turning around to rejoin the rescue group.

"Tia, don't strain yourself!" Glock exclaimed. Misty Fly gave me a confused raise of her eyebrow, silently asking me what was wrong. I shrugged and shook my head in response, letting her know there wasn't really anything wrong and to forget it. However, I heard it again. The sound of dirt scraping against the wall and rocks crumbling to the ground. Now I expected something like that to be the norm in a volcano of all things, but none of us could feel any microquakes occurring. These noises sounded as if some outside force was causing them to happen. I looked back again, and as expected, I didn't see anything. Glaring, I took a look up in case some parts of the ceiling were just cracked; my heart instantly stopped. About five feet above us, and staring me right in the face, was a fat brown dragon with a hungry look on his face.

"DRAGON!" I shouted as loud as I could as time seemed to slow. Not even a microsecond later, the monster shot a large fireball out of its mouth that was aimed straight at Celestia. I straightened out my arm as quickly as could while Bat Fang and Glock collided with Celestia, trying to shove her to the ground on the bridge.

BOOM!

I pulled the trigger on my revolver, causing a near cannon-like explosion to emit from the barrel of the gun. A large silver ball of magic shot out and hit the dragon in the stomach. The force of the hit dislodged him from the ceiling, causing him and some bits of the rock to fall. Looking behind me, I saw chaos. The three Wonderbolts, Spike, and Flash Sentry were diving out of the way of the fireball as Celestia actually shoved Glock and Bat Fang back toward me, leaving her alone on the bridge.

"AHHHH!" Celestia screamed as she fell to her back, but not in time. The fireball engulfed her horn as a bloodcurdling scream of agony emitting from her mouth. Her horn then started to spark violently, shooting off little streams of magic. The pain was making it impossible for her to control what she was doing!

"TIA!" Glock shouted. All of a sudden, Celestia's head snapped back up at us from the force of slamming into the ground. Almost sounding like a blast from a Star Wars blaster, a beam of golden magic shot out from Celestia's horn directly at us. I had to have been Quicksilver to dodge what was happening. Before I could even blink, the cannonball-like blast of golden magic hit me in the middle of my torso. I felt my body being flung back as a bright golden light engulfed my body, blinding me from seeing my friends again.

SLAM!

I groaned in pain as my back slammed full force from the blast into the wall behind me. The hit was more than enough to knock the wind out of me as I found breathing a little difficult. "Ohhhhh," I moaned as my body peeled itself from the wall and I fell back onto the ground. Wheezing and coughing, I lifted my now sore arms up and braced them against the ground, pushing myself up. I coughed a few times, gathering air back into my lungs and looked up. A few bright splotches blocked my vision, but at least I could make out a few parts of the volcano, so I wasn't blind. I might have been sore, but nothing felt numb, so I wasn't paralyzed either. Yet as I looked around, something was wrong. "M-Misty Fly?" I called out to the pony that stuck by me the whole time as I shook my head, trying to clear my vision. "Rainbow Dash? Spike?" I barked, hoping to God that someone would answer me.

With more labored breathing, I managed to sit up on my ass and prop my back against the stone wall, holding my helmeted head in my hands. Blinking for what felt like a thousand times, I attempted to get a bearing on my surroundings, only to come to a horrifying discovery. "Guys?" I was completely alone…

End Chapter 53

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The next chapter will hold the thrilling conclusion and the aftermath of the Royal Reclamation story arc.

I thought it'd be cool to reference some famous movies in this chapter since there's a sense of impending action and a lot of tension. Just in case you guys missed it, Ivan referenced his fear of the James Cameron classic Aliens while in the tunnel. And Spike quoted the line that Steve Rogers and James "Bucky" Barnes said to each other in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

I honestly can't wait to get the next chapter done; I hope you guys are ready for some dragon fighting!